This merger is quite a symbol. It was the union between the two clubs that saw the Hazard brothers blossom. And this Belgian Cup match between Kyllian and Ethan’s RUTB and Thorgan’s RSCA is an opportunity to shake up the land that saw the Hazard brothers grow up…
gull Our grandpa laid the tiling of the refreshment bar in Braine-le-Comte.
RUTB is a bit like the story of the Hazard family. “This club binds us all in the family, lance Kylian Hazard. Our grandpa was in the Braine-le-Comte committee at the time. He was even the one who laid the tiles in the refreshment bar. Dad played in both clubs, he then invested his all in Stade Brainois, a club with which he wanted to achieve great things. And then there was this opportunity to merge with Tubize. The opportunity to benefit from better infrastructure and to offer better training conditions for young people.”
A tradition that Thierry Hazard wants to perpetuate. “It’s a whole family story that goes well beyond a simple football club. It’s a club that has marked the history of the family and dad wants us to keep a legacy of this history.”confides Kylian.
The Brainois Stadium, extension of the family garden
This story began in Braine-le-Comte, on the now famous Sans Fond land, located in the extension of the family garden. With a barrier between the two that the Hazard brothers often climbed over to hit the leather. “The field had just been re-seeded and there was a large sign in front of the lawn prohibiting children from playing on it. One day, I saw a little boy busy shooting at the goal. I notice that the child places the ball two or three times in a row in the skylight, all with bare feet. And he didn’t shoot with a plastic ball, but with a leather ball. The moment I shouted at him, he quickly ran away and crossed the fence that separated his parents’ garden from the football field. It didn’t take long for him to return to the house. It was at that moment that I understood that it was Thierry’s son. He inherited a magnificent gift, perhaps it came from his mother because Carine did well at football.”Pascal Delmoitiez, the RUTB delegate who was active at Stade Brainois, once told us, recalling his first memory of Eden Hazard.
With Stade Brainois, from the imps, Eden Hazard quickly made a reputation in Belgium. “Everyone knows the anecdotes of Eden during the two tournaments organized at Standard. Every time we arrived at a tournament somewhere, the other teams already knew who would be voted best player of the tournament before it even started.”says Michaël Marcou, former Brainois coach and family friend.
Enough to attract desire. And, yet, Thierry Hazard refused to allow Eden to leave Stade Brainois too early. The bored club also saw Thorgan debut while Kylian never played an official match with his village club. “I often played on this pitch with my brothers but I was never affiliated with Stade Brainois. I started playing football in Tubize, in U5, when I followed Eden and Thorgan there. It was more practical for mom and dad in terms of travelexplains Kylian Hazard. And then it allowed me to follow my older brothers, who were always examples, who passed on this love for football to me. Even if we didn’t play in the same category, we created a lot of good memories in Tubize. It’s my whole childhood, a bit like a school where I saw my friends to have fun. I was always the little clown who liked to make others laugh. Sometimes I went a little too far…”
Tubize the springboard
When Eden is twelve years old, Thierry Hazard accepts that he joins the ranks of his Tubizian neighbor. His qualities are such that he needs to continue his training at a better level. “And, again, even against opponents of a higher level, it was too easy for Eden who played two categories above her age.remembers Michaël Marcou.
At the time, the man who took on the role of babysitter for the Hazard siblings, taken under his wing by dad Thierry, was also a trainer. First at Stade Brainois and then in Tubize. “The transition from Braine to Tubize was easy since I was the first to go to Tubize to train and following that, we pushed to have Eden and Thorgan. That’s how they came to Tubize, just like Thierry who took a coordination position for the little ones.”
And where the dad coached Thorgan in U11. “Sometimes he was too nervous and too hard on his sonremembers Fathi Ennabli, trainer in Tubize at the time. Thierry did not want the parents to talk about favoritism for Thorgan and he was therefore more demanding with him than with the others.
Following in the footsteps of Eden, Thorgan and Kylian also showed off their qualities in Tubize. Both with a very different character. “I picked up Kylian in my team in Tubize. I was already close to the family at that time and for him, who was still little, it was not easy to distinguish between the Mika of football and the Mika of the houseremembers Michaël Marcou, who tried to sort things out. In everyday life, they knew that if he wanted to laugh in my face, he could do so, but once on the pitch, that was no longer possible. At this level, it was simpler with Thorgan because even when he was little he was very meticulous, structured and serious, which allowed him to achieve the career he has. He was a good student. Unlike Kylian who was more playful. If he could add some atmosphere to a moment that should have been more serious, he did it.”
Kylian that his trainers one day found in… a tree. “During an eight-on-eight match, I count my players and realize that one is missing. I count again and see who I’m missing. It was Kylian. We found him behind the goal playing in a tree.”Benito Macchione, one of his former trainers, now deceased, told us.
gull Tubize was an important step in their development.
Whether for Eden, Thorgan or Kylian, Tubize was a real springboard. “At that time, the Tubize youth school had a very good reputation; the quality of the trainers was well above what Stade Brainois could offer; the working conditions were better, with a synthetic pitch which made it possible to get out of the Brainoise mud. All these factors combined have meant that Eden and Thorgan, but also Kylian, have taken a great step towards their future transition. Beyond their roots, Tubize was an important step in their development. A good springboard, ten minutes from home”confirm Marcou.
A club that the brothers don’t forget, like when Eden, Kylian and Ethan played together last June in a gala match against… Anderlecht. “I’m not the most sentimental but Tubize was important in my career. This is where I grew up as a little boy and had a lot of fun too. A club that I will always remember”, confirms Kylian.
The Hazard family reunited in Tubize?
With a dad who is vice-president of the club, Kylian and Ethan present in the first team in D1 ACFF, many are starting to dream of seeing the Hazard brothers united one day in the same team. A dream not so impossible as that. “We all know Eden’s situation but who knows, souligne Kylian. Thorgan is still under contract with Anderlecht but perhaps one day he too will come to Tubize. It’s a subject we sometimes discuss at the table.”
gull I will end my career in Belgium. It will perhaps be in Tubize.
Thorgan has also opened quite a door by confiding this week on this subject. “I will end my career in Belgium. I don’t know if it will be in Anderlecht. It will perhaps be in Tubize which is becoming the club of Hazard-boys.”
Close to the family, Michaël Marcou also believes in it. “I think we can completely forget this idea for Eden. But Thorgan has just confided that he had two objectives to achieve: to play with Lukaku at Anderlecht for at least one season and then complete the circle. It means what it means and I think that if Tubize can reach the D1B in the near future, that Thorgan is no longer hampered by injuries, it would be possible to have three Hazard brothers on the same scoresheet . It would be hard to manage for the coach but it would be great for the club. A nice way to come full circle.”
